Tanning apparatus.



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GEORGE F. STENGEL, OF NEWARK, NEW JERSEY.

TANNING' APPARATUS.

SPECIFICATION formingpart of Letters Patent N o. 666,857, dated January29, 1901. Application iiled March 2'7, 1899. Serial No. 710.635. @lomodel.)

To a/ZZ wwne t muy concern:

Be it known that I, GEORGE F. STENGEL, a citizen of the United States,residing at Newark, in the county of Essex and State of New Jersey, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Apparatus for TanningHides or Skins; and I do hereby declare the following to beafull, clear,and exact description of the invention, such as will enable othersskilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same,reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to letters ofreference marked thereon, Which form a part of this specification.

This invention relates to a novel process of treating hides or skins inorder that they may be properly tanned; and the invention furthermorerelates to a novel construction of apparatus in which the hides or skinsaretov be treated.

My invention therefore has for its primary object to provide a simpleand operative device in which the hides or skins are placed in thetanning liquor, which is kept under constant agitation and pressure tothoroughly open the liber and pores of the skins or hides, and therebysoftening the same and also producing great strength and toughness, aswell as elasticity, all of which is imparted to the tanned skin or hidein less time and with less labor than by the ordinary tanning processesnow ordinarily employed.

My invention consists in the novel arrangements and combinations ofparts comprising an apparatus in which the hides or skins are to betreated.

The apparatus in which the hides or skins are to be tanned isillustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which- Eigure l is alongitudinal vertical section of the apparatus, and Fig. 2 is a verticalcrosssection of the same.

Similar letters of reference are employed in said above-described viewsto indicate corresponding parts.

In said drawings, a indicates a suitable tank or vat, which is made ofsheet metal, preferably of galvanized iron or other suitable metal whichwill not be affected by the tanning liquor toidiscolor the same and thehides or skins therein. The sides of the said tank or vat are indicatedby the reference-letters a and a2 and are provided with suitable laps a,whereby said sides may be properly iitted and secured together, as willbe clearly evident. Said tan k or vat a is suitably arranged in or upona foundation b, or it maybe suitably secured in position upon the{iooring of a building. In the sides et and a2 of said tank a, inpositions nearer the top a3 of said tank than the bottom thereof, I havearranged certain bearings c and c', substantially as illustrated in Fig.l. Rotatively arranged in said bearings c and c and supported in thebearings d' of suitably-placed pedestals d is a shaft c, on which issecured at one end thereof a fast pulley e' and a loose pulley e2 forrotating said shaft. Said shaft is provided with a sheet-metal coveringe3, of galvanized iron, Which will not become affected by the tannieacidof the tanning liquor, or said shaft may be made of any other suitablematerial which will not discolor the tanning liquor. Secured to thatportion of the shaft e Within the inner walls of the tank or vat ot bymeans of set-screws e4 or in any other suitable manner are any desirablenumber of collars e5, which are provided with radially-arranged arms e6,preferably three in number, as indicated in Fig. 2 of the drawings.Secured to or near the free ends of said arms e6 in any Well-knownmanner are paddles or blades e7, which are preferably made fiat, asillustrated; but they may be of any other shape.

Leading into the bottom of the tank a is a suitable pipe a4, throughwhich the tanning liquor is forced into the tank. Said tank or vat isalso provided in one or several of its sides with an opening, as 01,5,which is closed by a suitablyconstructed cover or door a6, preferablyprovided with a packing-ring a7, which cover or door can be opened topermit the placing of the hides or skins in the tank or vat a and alsoto provide a means for the removal of the finished product. At or nearthe top of the tank or vat a. thereis a cock a8, provided With asuitable finger-piece' a9 for opening and closing the same, and near thebottom of' the tank there may be another cock d10. Said tank or vat ctmay also be provided with a pressure-gage f and a safety-valve f'.

Having thus described the construction of the apparatus and in orderthat others may clearly understand the nature of my invention and themanner in which the same is to be put in practice, I will now describethe method of procedure in tanning hides or skins in the said apparatus.

The raw hides after having in the old and wellknown manner been unhairedand soaked, are placed in said tank a and the cover or door a tightlyclosed. Usually I place from twenty to thirty hides or skins in lthesaid tank. This having been done, I open the cock as and force thetanning liquor into the tank through the pipe a4 by means of a pump orother suitable means for forcing the liquor therethrough under pressureuntil the tank or vat a is iilled and the liquor will flow from saidcock as. This cock is then closed, and I keep on forcing in the tanningliquor until the gage f indicates a pressure, say, from thirty to fortypounds per square inch. Then I shut off the supply of the tanning liquorand start the rotation ofthe shaft e and the paddles or blades connectedtherewith. In this manner the liquor will become thoroughly stirred andunder the heavy pressure will be forced into the pores of the hides orskins. As has been previously stated, the bearings c and c' are arrangednear the top CL3 of the tank or vat, whereby the paddle on the shaft cis likewise arranged within the tank or vat near its upper part. Thisarrangement is absolutely necessary, since the hides or skins should bein the liquor beneath the paddle to prevent contact with the same andnot interfere with the movement or circulation of the hides or skins,which is essential to permit the proper penetration of the skins orhides by the tanning` liquor. This process more quickly plumps the hidesand distends the ber for the better reception of the tanning liquor, Theliquor when tnus taken up in the hides or skins will soon becomeexhausted or weakened and much lighter in its specific gravity. I thenstop the rotation of the shaft and its paddles and open the cocks as andam, and by forcing fresh tanning liquor of the required specific gravitythrough the pipe a4 into the tank a. the exhausted or weakened liquor isdriven out through said cocks. After a time these cocks are againclosed, the shaft started, and the operation of injecting the tanningliquor into the tank under pressure continued until the hides or skinsare thoroughly tanned. After the leather is taken from the tank or vatit is scrubbed in the usual manner and then hung rlhe apparatus may beemployed for tanning skins or hides of any description and with bark orany other tanning materials.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim isl. An apparatus fortanning hides or skins, consisting, of a stationary tank or vat, havinga sealed opening, a shaft in said tank-ro tatable in bearings in thesides and near the top of said tank, means for rotating said shaft, ametallic covering placed over said shaft of a nature not to be affectedby the tanning liquor, and agitating-paddles on the metallic covering ofsaid shaft, said paddles being arranged within the upper part of saidtank or vat, away from contact with the hides or skins in the bottom ofthe tank or vat to permit of their free movement or circulation, whenthe apparatus is in operation, substantially as and for the purposes setforth.

2. An apparatus for tanning hides or skins, consisting, of a stationarytank or vat, having a sealed opening, a shaft in said tank rotatable inbearings in the sides and near the top of said tank, means for rotatingsaid Shaft, a lnetallie covering placed over said shaft of a nature notto be affected by the tanning liquor, agitating-paddles on the metalliccovering of said shaft, said paddles being arranged within the upperpart of said tank or vat, away from contact with the hides or skins inthe bottom of the tank or vat to permit of their free movement orcirculation, when the apparatus is in operation, an inletpipe connectedwith the lower portion of Said tank, an outlet cock or cocks in saidtank, and a pressure-gage connected with said tank, silbstantially asand for the purposes set forth.

In testimony that I claim the invention set forth above I have hereuntoset my hand this 23d day of March, 1899.

GEORGE F. STENGEL.

Vitnesses:

FREDK. C. FRAENTZEL, WALTER H. TALMGE.

